Czech NGO NESEHNUTÍ (http://initiativeway.org/)  in partnership with Armenian organizations Centre of Community Mobilization and Support  (https://www.armccms.org ) and Civil Youth Centre (cyc.org.am) invite you to take part in the programme to support the development of civil society in Armenia and offer you the opportunity to receive support for your civic campaigns and initiatives for the period from May 2024 to April 2025.

Donor of the program: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic

Eligible participants:

NGOs, independent media, informal groups, civil initiatives or activists and local organizations. When evaluating the application, priority will be given to proposals that will be implemented in the regions of Armenia. Support shall not be granted to political parties or formally or informally affiliated organizations (youth or expert organizations etc.)

Priority topics and forms of activities supported in this program:

• Protection of the environment, climate, nature or animal rights;
• Public participation in the decision-making process (especially the youth people), free access to information;
• Promotion of democratic values; 
• Equal opportunities for men and women, prevention of domestic violence; 
• Investigative journalism
• Protection of human rights (including civil and social rights, rights of minorities and low-income groups).

What can the selected initiatives look forward to?

• Selected groups and initiatives will participate in a planning session with professional facilitators, with the help of those who can develop their ideas into concrete plans and implement them from May 2024 to April 2025. This planning session will be held in English or Russian.
• Financial support for your campaign in the average amount of EUR 2,500.
• Consultations with foreign experts online and offline, expert consultations on demand, operational support for your initiative
• Members of the group will have an opportunity to participate in:
  • School of Civic Engagement (2025)
  • Study trip to the Czech Republic (2025)
  • BarCamp in Armenia (2026)

What ideas, campaigns and initiatives are we looking for? 

• Only those which can help activate the part of the public, specific target groups or young people with a goal to reach concrete changes and results in a problem. 
• We draw your attention to the fact that project actions should aim to create specific measures or changes and not one-time actions or assistance.

The selection of proposed projects will also take into account:

• The clarity of the team's vision of the desired outcome.
• The team's ability to engage citizens or stakeholders in their project.
• Creativity and use of innovative methods and approaches to reach the target audience.

Examples of suitable project proposals (examples, not only):

• activity aimed at mobilizing the community to solve urgent problems,
• protection of the rights of vulnerable categories of citizens,
• activity aimed at strategic solutions for the development of local communities,
• activity aimed at solving environmental problems…

What applications are not suitable?

Social work projects, one-time events, various educational and general education campaigns, lectures, or publishing information materials or articles that do not lead to goal-specific systemic changes.  

Main Dates

March 20, 2024 - the last day for accepting your application forms (proposals received after this deadline will not be evaluated).

March 25, 2024 - all candidates will receive information on the results of the competition. We will agree on the date of the online meeting with the selected candidates.

March 28, 2024 - online meetings with selected candidates (the meeting does not guarantee that you were finally chosen and included in the support program).

First week of May, 2024 – two-day working meeting, where you will make a detailed plan of your project with the help of facilitators. Attendance at the meeting is obligatory (ideally, all the members of your initiative who will be involved in the implementation of the project). The meeting will occur in your place, and NESEHNUTI will cover all expenditures. This planning meeting will be held in English or Russian (according to the organization's preferences).

May 2024 -April 2025 - the actual campaign implementation and provision of expert support as needed.

September-October 2024 – monitoring where we will evaluate your interim results of the campaign together and, based on that, prepare an update of the campaign plan.

Please send your applications (form below) by March 20, 2024 in English or Russian: alena.marchkova@nesehnuti.cz  & jaromir.nemec@nesehnuti.cz

You can download the application form here.

For more information, contact: jaromir.nemec@nesehnuti.cz 

The project "Participatory Way to Change in the Regions of Armenia", which aims to support civic initiatives and active citizens in their efforts to involve local residents and jointly contribute to the search for solutions to current problems, as well as the protection of democratic values and human rights, is implemented with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic within the framework of the "Transformational Cooperation" program.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic supports the project in the framework of the transformational cooperation programme.